I've seen this happen so many times. The worst was at a writer's conference
I attended. One of the presenters was the tech guy at a certain magazine
that shall remain nameless and his presentation was about a data base their
company was selling. He had a power point demonstrating its features on his
new-that-day laptop - and he couldn't figure out how to open it. Finally,
one of the housewives in the audience went up and showed him. It wasted half
of the allotted time for the workshop.
I've also been at quite few that pinned their talk on a live Internet
hook-up that wasn't available, and they had no back-up hand-outs. I've
learned to download a copy of each web page you are going to demo, as well
as one search done using that site, so that if your hook-up doesn't
materialize, you at least have something to show. And to write down the main
points on a hand-out and make sure you take plenty of copies, in case the
electricity or your computer battery doesn't work in that room or on that
day.
Technology is wonderful - when it isn't pissing us off!
Betty Winslow, Media Center Director
BGCA
Bowling Green, OH
bgcalib@wcnet.org
.
----- Original Message -----
From: "mccheyne" <mccheyne@ZOOM-DSL.COM>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 7:47 PM
Subject: Share: The Pitfalls of Technology
>I just had a terrible experience with technology. I was scheduled to do a
> presentation for our staff. I wanted to review the use of the online
> catalog, as well as demo some e-books and online databases. I tested
> every
> site. I practiced and had notes so that I would be able to fit a lot into
> a
> small time. I gathered the equipment; set it up and tested it.
> Everything
> worked ... until showtime. I can't figure out what went wrong. I was
> trying to demo sites that are standard, often used, and reliable. No
> special
> settings needed on the computer, etc. The network connection was there,
> and
> the equipment seemed to be working. But then the pages would only load
> so
> far, and then they would stop. It was not a good time of day for the
> internet - 4:00pm in New York state. I guess it was just a slow time for
> loading web pages, but there I was - explaining what they would see if the
> page had actually loaded. I wound up feeling pretty foolish - trying to
> promote something that didn't actually work! I guess the good news is
> that
> tomorrow is likely to be better...
>
> Beth McCheyne
> Elementary Librarian
> South Seneca Central School
> Interlaken, NY
> mccheyne@zoom-dsl.com
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
> To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
> In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
> 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
> LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
> Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
> EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
> LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/el-announce/
LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home